Strathfield Municipal Council v Poynting

Strathfield Municipal Council appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of Bignold J concerning the interpretation of a development standard under the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979* (NSW). The dispute centred on whether a minimum land area requirement of 560 square metres for building on a parcel of land constituted a "development standard" for the purposes of the Act, particularly in the context of an application for consent to erect multiple-unit housing.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the minimum lot size requirement, as stipulated in the relevant planning instrument, qualified as a development standard under section 79C(1)(b) of the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979*. This determination was crucial for assessing whether the consent authority had the power to grant development consent for multiple-unit housing on a lot smaller than 560 square metres, notwithstanding the apparent contravention of the minimum area requirement.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Giles and Heydon JJA and Young CJ in Eq, reasoned that the minimum lot size requirement was indeed a development standard. Their Honours held that a development standard is a provision that prescribes a standard of achievement to be attained by a development. In this instance, the 560 square metre minimum area was a standard that a development had to meet. Consequently, the consent authority retained a discretion to grant consent to a development that did not meet this standard, provided it was satisfied that compliance with the standard was not reasonably necessary and that the public interest would be served by granting consent.

The Court allowed the appeal in part, varying the answers given by Bignold J. Specifically, the variation clarified that the consent authority's discretion to grant consent for multiple-unit housing on a lot less than 560 square metres was preserved. The appeal was otherwise dismissed, and the appellant, Strathfield Municipal Council, was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.